1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to eyewear, and more particularly, to an improved temple for eyeglasses embodying an integrally formed, elastomeric ear piece.
2. Description of Related Art
Eyeglasses, embodying corrective eyeglasses or sunglasses are well known in the art. While the lenses in sunglasses or corrective lenses may be crafted for a specific individual, the frames most often are not. Eyeglass frames, including the temple, are usually constructed to conform to an idealized standard adult head. However, the frames rarely precisely fit the wearer's head, due to the almost limitless number of different shapes and sizes of the head of each individual wearer.
Thus, the fit of the frame on the wearer's head is typically too tight or too loose about the head. A frame that is too loose, usually results in the frame moving freely about on the head and possibly falling off of the wearer. A tight fitting frame may cause the wearer pain which could result in headaches and irritations, for example.
To aid with securing the eyeglasses to the user's head, temples have long been designed with an arcuate portion at the distal end of the temple, commonly referred to as the ear piece. The ear piece extends behind the ear, for engaging the back of the wearer's ear. The ear piece may be covered with a thin layer of hard plastic, if the ear piece is fabricated from metal for example. However, since there are significant variations among individuals in the distance from the position of the eyeglass lens and the back of the ear, the length of the temple is often too long or too short.
This results in the ear piece not properly engaging the wearer's ear. Thus, the ear piece may irritate the ear, due to friction for example, if the temple is too short, or the eyeglasses may fall off of the wearer's head if the temple is too long and the ear piece does not sufficiently engage the back of the wearer's ear. This is particularly disadvantageous during sports activities such as running and cycling, for example. As the wearer perspires, moisture and body oil cover the hard plastic ear piece. When the ear piece is covered with oil and moisture, the coefficient of friction between the wearer and ear piece is reduced, and the eyeglasses easily fall off the wearer.
A prior art attempt to improve the retention of eyewear about a wearer's head is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,903, to Jannard et al. The patent to Jannard et al., discloses an eyewear traction device that comprises a cylindrical, elastomeric traction member that is disposed in a recessed seat of a temple. The traction member provides a contact area between the temple and the head, for retaining the eyewear on the wearer's head. A disadvantage of the disclosed traction member is that it is not affixed to the temple. Over time, the traction member may be dislodged from the temple, and become lost, for example. Further, as the traction member is not affixed to the temple, the traction member may move freely about in the recessed seat, and possibly longitudinally along the temple, which would be undesirable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,001, to Jannard, discloses an earstem for eyeglasses that provides retention. The disclosed earstem includes a diverging section, a transition section, a converging section, and a retaining section. The retaining section extends posteriorally from the converging section so as to provide an interfacing surface between the eyewear and the head. The retaining section accommodates a traction device, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,903, to Jannard et al., to enhance the retention of the eyewear about the head, by increasing the coefficient of static friction between the eyewear and the head. A disadvantage of the disclosed earstem, as discussed above, is that the traction member may be dislodged from the temple, and become lost, or may move freely about the recessed seat and temple.
Alternative embodiment of eyeglasses are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,915, to Jannard; U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,611, to Burns; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,851, to Jannard.
There therefore exists a need for an improved temple for eyeglasses that includes a resilient ear piece that will not detach from the temple or move about on the temple, and further enhances retaining of the eyeglasses on the wearer.